Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, Central Germany, on the left bank of the

Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with ...

, southeast of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. Founded in 1170, it is part of the

district.

Location

The town is in northern

, southeast of

and south of

Wurzen Wurzen () is a town in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig on the main line via Riesa to Dresden. It has a cathedral dating ...

Flooding

The river

flows through the town, a significant section of which is situated in a floodplain. Massive

floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

in 2002 washed away the old Pöppelmannbrücke bridge and caused significant damage to buildings in the town. In the summer of 2013 there was further flood damage. Grimma Poeppelmannbruecke

Suburbs

* Großbardau (merged with Grimma January 2006) * Döben * Hohnstädt * Höfgen * Beiersdorf * Kaditzsch * Schkortitz * Naundorf * Neunitz * Grechwitz * Dorna * Kleinbardau (merged with Grimma January 2006) * Bernbruch (merged with Grimma 2006) * Waldbardau (merged with Grimma 2006) *

Nerchau Nerchau is a town and a former municipality in the Leipzig (district), Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is a part (''Ortschaft'') of the town Grimma. It is situated on the river Mulde, 7 km nort ...

(merged with Grimma 2011) *

Thümmlitzwalde Thümmlitzwalde is a village and a former municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Grimma Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, ...

(merged with Grimma 2011) *

Großbothen Großbothen is a village and a former municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany. Großbothen had an area of 33.45 km² and a population of 3,453 (as of December 31, 2009). At a local government reform on 1 January 2011, the muni ...

(merged with Grimma 2011) *

Mutzschen Mutzschen () is a former town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 13 km east of Grimma, and 21 km northwest of Döbeln. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has been incorporated into the town of ...

(merged with Grimma 1 January 2012)

History

Grimma is of Sorbian origin and was first documented in 1065. The

Margraves of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a hil ...

and the

Electors of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

often resided at the castle in the town. The town was chosen as one of three government elite boarding schools, the 'Princely Schools of Saxony', in 1550. The purpose of these schools was to educate future civil servants and to prepare them for further studies at universities which is why a number of historical personalities are biographically related to this rather small town. The

Gymnasium St. Augustine Gymnasium St. Augustine in Grimma (''Gymnasium St. Augustin zu Grimma'', historically known as Landes- und Fürstenschule Grimma is the only regular gymnasium offering boarding in Saxony. It is heavily steeped in tradition as one of the foremost ...

still exists today as one of only a few public boarding schools in Saxony. Grimma was the scene of

witch trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

between 1494–1701. At least two women were executed as witches. Due to the town being located at the second main railway line between Leipzig and Dresden (via Meissen), the town developed well in the 19th century. By 1890 the population had reached 8,957. The town was affected by heavy flooding in 2013. Work had by this time started on the construction of flood barriers, but their completion had been delayed by local opposition In 2017, the

Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) is an international fellowship of 34 Confessional Lutheran church bodies. The CELC was founded in 1993 in Oberwesel, Germany with an initial thirteen church bodies. Plenary sessions are hel ...

held their international, triennial convention in Grimma.

Culture

Grimma has been the site of many historic structures, including a town hall dating from 1442, a famous school (the Fürstenschule) erected on the site of a former

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

monastery in 1550, and a school of brewing.

Twin towns – sister cities

Datteln is twinned with: *

Bron Bron () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, eastern France. Geography Bron lies east-southeast of central Lyon. It is the sixth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is adjacent to its east side. Climat ...

, France *

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (eithe ...

, Israel * Leduc, Canada * Rüdesheim, Germany *

Weingarten Weingarten may refer to: Places * Weingarten, Württemberg, Germany ** Weingarten Abbey * Weingarten (Baden), Germany * Weingarten, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Weingarten, Thuringia, Germany * Weingarten, Switzerland * Weingarten, Missouri ...

, Germany

Notable people

Albert III, Duke of Saxony Albert III (german: Albrecht) (27 January 144312 September 1500) was a Duke of Saxony. He was nicknamed Albert the Bold or Albert the Courageous and founded the ''Albertine line'' of the House of Wettin. Biography Albert was born in Grimma as t ...

(1443–1500) *

Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria Catherine of Saxony (Katharina von Sachsen; 24 July 1468 – 10 February 1524), a member of the House of Wettin, was the second wife of Sigismund, Archduke of Austria and Regent of Tyrol. Life Born in Grimma, Catherine was the eldest child of ...

(1468–1524) *

Ernst Otto Schlick Ernst Otto Schlick (16 June 1840, Grimma - 10 April 1913, Hamburg) was a German naval engineer. He tried to solve the problem of rolling of ships at sea by installing large gyroscopes. The gyroscopic "stabilizers" gave disappointing or dangerous r ...

(1840–1913), engineer *

Georg Elias Müller Georg Elias Müller (20 July 185023 December 1934) was a significant early German experimental psychologist who is credited with the theory of retroactive interference. Biography Early life Georg Elias Müller was born in Grimma, Saxony on 20 Ju ...

(1850–1934), psychologist *

Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and his ...

(1887–1970), playwright *

Diethard Hellmann Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. Professional career Born in Grimma, Dietmann Hellmann was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied church music in Leipzig ...

(1928–1999), musician *

Verena Reichel Verena Reichel (21 March 1945 – 9 February 2022) was a German literary translator. Bilingual from childhood, she later studied Scandinavian literature, German literature, and theater. Since 1972, she has worked as a freelance translator from Sw ...

(born 1945), translator *

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film ''Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 200 ...

(1953–2007), actor *

Carmen Nebel Carmen Nebel (born 24 July 1956 in Grimma, then East Germany) is a German television presenter. Nebel majored in German studies, English studies and pedagogy at Humboldt University of Berlin. After completing her degree she began appearing on GDR ...

(born 1956), TV moderator *

Olaf Beyer Olaf Beyer (born 4 August 1957 in Grimma) is a retired East German 800 metres runner. Biography He won the gold medal at the 1978 European Championships in Prague. In that race he beat the future world-record holder Sebastian Coe and the future ...

(born 1957), athlete * Matthias Lindner (born 1965), footballer * Torsten Kracht (born 1967), footballer *

Jochen Kupfer Jochen Kupfer (born 1969 in Grimma) is a German operatic baritone. Early life and education Kupfer received regular singing lessons from the age of 10, and studied singing with Helga Forner at the Musikhochschule Leipzig. He attended master classe ...

(born 1969), operatic baritone *

Marina Schuck Marina Schuck is a German sprint canoer who has competed since the late 2000s. She won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at the 2007 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan ar ...

(born 1981), sprint canoer * Ronny Garbuschewski (born 1986), footballer

Gallery

Gymnasium Grimma 2006.jpg, The High School St. Augustine of Grimma Frauenkirche_Grimma.jpg, Frauenkirche Schiffmühle Höfgen.jpg, Sawmill Höfgen Muldeufer Grimma.jpg, Old town as seen from the Mulde river Grimma Muldeufer.jpg, The bank of the Mulde Grimma Alte Muldebrücke 02.jpg, Armorial bearings on a bridge over Mulde in Grimma Grimma Alte Muldebrücke 03.jpg, Destroyed bridge over Mulde in Grimma Grimma Hochwasserdenkmal 01.jpg, Memorial to the flood disaster 2002 in Grimma

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in Saxony Leipzig (district) 1170 establishments in Europe 1170s establishments in Germany